Various systems for providing personalized information to mobile users are known. These include systems dedicated for this functionality, and those which incidentally include this functionality. The simplest systems are mobile half or full duplex radio transceivers, which allow sharing of a single transmission channel or pair of channels with any number of users. These systems may be used with voice or data. Another type of communication system is the known switched telephone system, in which voice and/or data is communicated on dedicated channels between users, with a central switch controlling the linking. A further type of communication system employs an addressed packet communication system in which packets of information are addressed to a recipient over a common channel, thereby allowing a large number of users to share a common channel. Spread spectrum systems allow independent communication between transceivers over a shared radio frequency band, particularly where band occupancy is low.
In order to avoid the need for decoding addresses for each information packet, multiple communications channels are employed. Such systems include physical communications media, such as copper wire and optic fiber, as well as wireless channels which may vary in frequency, timing, polarization, or other characteristic which allows selection at the receiver regardless of the data content of the channel. Thus, cellular telephone systems exist which allow multiple frequency bands (FDMA) or timeslots (TDMA) to be employed for full duplex analog or digital communications (CPDP).
Cellular telephone transceivers may be used with known information distribution systems to provide a selective information distribution to mobile users based on a selection criteria provided by the user. Thus, various dial-up databases and phone-messaging systems may be accessed through wireless transceivers. Unidirectional and bi-directional paging systems are known, in which many users share a common transmission medium and common communications channel with addressed packet messages. Bi-directional pagers may employ a separate and/or different communication system for data uplink. Low power systems are known which allow point-to-point communications of voice or data over channels within a band, or via spread spectrum communications.
Known systems allow the storage and retrieval of music on a database server system, which may be accessed through telephone systems, computer networks or the Internet. These systems provide, in the various implementations, dedicated send and receive channels for each user, an addressed packet information delivery transmission protocol, or a combination thereof. These systems generally provide symmetric data links, employing the same protocol and data transmission formats for both uplink and downlink. Asymmetric data links are also known, but such systems generally employ addressed packet information in a high speed downlink and multiple dedicated communication channels in an uplink.
Systems are also known, e.g., Internet, which convert information from a dedicated channel to a common channel with addressed information packets.
Radio frequency uplink bar code scanners are known, which scan a bar code of an object and uplink the code to a centralized system. Further, systems are known wherein multiple bar code terminals may operate simultaneously with a central database system. In addition, it is known to provide a terminal for use by a person, having a bar code scanner and which receives information resulting or relating to a bar code scan from a central system, through a wireless link. These systems are generally used for digital data transmission in automated inventory and warehousing applications. Virtual reality simulations may include audio signals presented to a user through a wireless link. Bar code equipped terminals may also be fitted with audio output devices. One such known system is a supermarket cash register with integral bar code scanner and voice synthesis, which is connected to a central database for bar code-based look-up and return of product identification and pricing information.
Infrared communications are known, and with a number of emerging standards, such as IrDA. In these systems, an infrared LED is digitally modulated at a high data rate to illuminate an environmental area with a beam including the signal. A photodetector, generally a silicon bipolar device based detector, receives the infrared signal, which is generally processed to suppress background illumination effects and demodulate the signal. It is known to transmit audio information using such methods, such as to wireless headphones or speakers.
A video cassette recorder system manufactured by Matsushita provides a bar code scanner which transmits control sequences via an infrared beam to a VCR. As a result of these transmitted sequences, the VCR may reproduce a desired audio-visual sequence. Optical disk systems are also known in which addressing information is provided through a bar code reader, and so that a portion of the information stored on an optical video-disk is retrieved and presented based on a printed bar code which is scanned.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,874, incorporated herein by reference, relates to a system for the tuning of a broadcast radio receiver to a receive a signal from a transmitter of a certain type of program using RDS (radio data system) information. The broadcast radio receiver is first tuned to receive a convenient program signal, which is in accordance with the wishes of the listener. The PTY (program type information) information retrieved from the RDS data of such transmitter is stored by operation of an associated control element in order to set a filter, whose filter condition is the agreement with such PTY information. For subsequent tuning of the broadcast radio receiver to another program, as for example by means of a search sweep, such program is only considered to be suitable for reception if it fulfills the filter condition. PTY information is a standardized characteristic indicating the type of program, which is broadcast by the respective transmitter, as for instance news services, sporting news, entertainment music or classical music.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,215, incorporated herein by reference, relates to a system for simultaneously interrogating a plurality of portable data cards. Operable over a plurality of radio frequencies, the interrogation system sequentially communicates with each portable data card as it comes within communication range on a first one of the plurality of radio frequencies for determining a unique identification number associated with each data card. Once the identification number for a card is obtained by the interrogation system, a predetermined transaction, such as deactivating an electronic barrier to entering a limited access area, for the holder of the identified card is initiated. The interrogation system then selects and moves with each card to a different one of the plurality of radio frequencies for completing a data transfer portion of the transaction. The interrogation system simultaneously completes each predetermined transaction of reading from and writing data to each one of the plurality of cards while communicating with each card on the respectively selected ones of the plurality of radio frequencies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,946, incorporated herein by reference, relates to a system for interactive multimedia entertainment that stores a plurality of video and/or songs and allows for the receipt of information concerning the cost of each song and other relevant information. The system has application to music listening, video entertainment and Karaoke entertainment systems.
It is also known to store audio information, as samples or synthesized music or voice, in a semiconductor memory device. Technologies used for this storage include masked ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, multivalued stored charge potentials, and RAM.
The known systems may be expensive, both in equipment cost, and in the opportunity cost of the radio frequency spectrum usage. Further, these systems do not provide for simple automated identification of an object concerning which information is desired with subsequent automated receipt of an audio signal regarding that object.